The present application claims the benefit of the filing date of Japanese Patent Application Serial No. 2000-13242, filed May 2, 2000.
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This invention relates to sports racket stringing equipment, and more particularly to a gut-clamping mechanism in gut-stretching equipment for tennis rackets, squash rackets, badminton rackets, racquetball rackets, and the like.
Clamp handles for racket stringing equipment are designed to open and close a pawl by employing a sliding action. In many cases, these clamp handles employ the principles of metal bearings, wherein expensive materials, such as copper and brass, are used in the clamp handle 101H. In the other holder 101C, the part A that serves as the receptacle for the other holder quenched steel is mirror-surface polished and fitted in for maximum sliding efficiency, such that the wear occurs mostly on the handle, so as to protect the main unit.
Therefore, in addition to the high material cost of the clamp handle 101H, the other holder 101C that receives the clamp handle requires a fortifying material and labor, which adds to the high cost.
The present invention was developed in view of the above situation, the purpose thereof being to provide an inexpensive and light-weight gut-clamping mechanism for tennis rackets and the like that uses a roller to reduce the wear on the mutual contact point between the clamp handle and the holders so that inexpensive materials, such as light alloys and plastics, can be used for the construction of the clamp handle. This eliminates the need for a reinforcing means on the holder side that comes into contact with the clamp handle.
The gut-clamping mechanism of the present invention generally comprises a support post erected on a clamp block, a pair of holders wherein one holder is secured onto the top edge of the support post and the other holder is provided on the first holder in a detachable manner, such that an expanding coil spring is inserted between them, a pressing plate having a shaft that goes through the pair of holders when the screw unit that is etched and provided at the tip of the shaft, and a clamp handle that is axially attached to an edge of the pressing plate. A freely rotating roller is axially attached to the contact part with the side of the holder that is secured onto the support post in the clamp handle.